France has introduced its second National Vineyard Grubbing Plan in just a few years, signaling continued efforts to reduce wine-growing potential and address the longstanding challenges facing the sector.
As previously reported by WineNews, this initiative comes at a time of increasing pressure on winemakers, who face rising production costs, low yields, and declining market values.
The 2026 Plan allocates a budget of €130 million, providing aid of €4,000 per hectare to support vineyard uprooting. While designed to cover 32,500 hectares, the plan will not be fully utilized. According to provisional data from FranceAgriMer, reported by Vitisphere, the total grubbing-up involves 10,342 hectares across 1,392 applications (37% of the eligible area), while partial grubbing-up affects 17,586 hectares from 4,432 applications (63%). Key regions requesting aid include Gironde, Aude, Gard, Hérault, Pyrénées-Orientales, and Gers, predominantly affecting red grape varieties.
Despite the ongoing difficulties in the wine market, including a 4.1% decline in export values in 2025 compared to 2024, expectations for more extensive participation did not materialize. Although some had anticipated requests covering up to 50,000 hectares, only about 28,000 hectares were involved, translating to nearly €112 million in budget utilization. Several factors may explain this shortfall, ranging from optimistic market forecasts and a wait-and-see approach by winemakers to the timing and attractiveness of the measure.
FranceAgriMer’s surveys indicated a potential need for uprooting more than 34,000 hectares, suggesting that current participation aligns closely with sector estimates. Winemakers have until December 31st to complete vineyard grubbing. The plan benefits from European support through the "Wine Package," reinforcing its role as a strategic tool to manage wine-growing capacity in France.
Source: WineNews